Avon man survives New Year's stabbing

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EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado - Chivalry almost killed an Avon man when he reportedly suggested another man stop swearing at the woman he was with.

The Avon man, whose name is not being released, suffered near fatal stab wounds during an alleged attack by Nathaniel Alexander Malcolm, 32, of Centennial, and Morgan Marie Leland, 28, of Denver.

The Avon man was walking toward his residence in the 300 block of West Beaver Creek Blvd., about 2 a.m. after closing time on New Year's Eve. He saw Malcolm and Leland walking near them as Malcolm was arguing with her about an Audi automobile, according to police reports.

Malcolm overheard the Avon man's comment made about the way Malcolm was treating Leland and aggressively confronted him and began fighting, police said.

Leland jumped on the Avon man's back, yelling at him to leave Malcolm alone because he was just drunk, the police report said. Malcolm grabbed an item from his boot and started punching the Avon man, report said.

When they separated the Avon man discovered he'd been stabbed, police reports said.

It may have been the second fight Malcolm and Leland were involved in that night, police said. A couple matching their description - an black male and white female - were involved in a fight at another Avon hotel and left in a white Audi, according to police.

Avon police, along with Eagle County sSheriff's deputies found Malcolm and Leland around 6:30 a.m. after combing the area.

Malcolm had a cut on his right hand and blood on his clothing. Leland also had blood on her clothing, police said.

"It was a good collaboration by law enforcement agencies," said Lt. Greg Daly with the Avon Police Department. "Thankfully we had a good number of officers on duty, given the night."

Malcolm and Leland were arrested and booked into the Eagle County jail on charges of first degree assault with a weapon and criminal attempt to commit a Class 2 felony.

Both posted bond, Malcolm $15,000 and Leland $7,500.

The victim is recovering and has been released from the Vail Valley Medical Center.

Vail was quiet

Even with that isolated incident it was a quiet New Year's Eve, local police said.

Only eight people in Vail even attracted the attention of their police department that night, according to a Vail report.

Of those, three were taken into detox to sleep it off.

It's a far cry from a decade ago when Vail Village was the site of New Year's Eve revelry that became so dangerous that the town council imposed an overnight curfew.

The public safety campaign was so successful that for the first time in more than 10 years, the town rescinded the overnight curfew and eliminated late-night checkpoints in Vail Village.

The town made some adjustments in bus service and increased the number of police and fire personnel.

Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger said additional foot patrols in the pedestrian areas maintained a family-friendly environment during the holiday.